Hankinson tabbed as Scorpions' first coach

San Antonio's planned North American Soccer League franchise, scheduled to begin play in March, took the next step toward that goal when it announced the hiring of Tim Hankinson as head coach.

Mexican soccer legend and Scorpions adviser Jorge Campos shows off the NASL franchise’s first jersey alongside team president Michael Hitchcock (right) on Thursday. J. MICHAEL SHORT/SPECIAL TO THE EXPRESS-NEWS

Photo By Kin Man Hui/kmhui@express-news.net

Gordon Hartman smiles after unveiling architectural renderings for a soccer stadium during a San Antonio Scorpions press conference at Morgan's Wonderland on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

Photo By Kin Man Hui/kmhui@express-news.net

Michael Hitchcock, newly appointed president of the San Antonio Scorpions soccer team, speaks during a press conference at Morgan's Wonderland on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

Photo By Kin Man Hui/kmhui@express-news.net

Gordon Hartman and the San Antonio Scorpions hold a press conference on the upcoming season, the appointment of a president for the team and their plans for a stadium near Morgan's Wonderland on Tuesday, April 26, 2011. The team is expecting to play their first game in 2012.

Photo By Kin Man Hui/kmhui@express-news.net

Gordon Hartman unveils architectural drawings of a proposed soccer stadium for the San Antonio Scorpions during a press conference at Morgan's Wonderland on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

Photo By Kin Man Hui/kmhui@express-news.net

Stickers are handed out by a soccer fan after Gordon Hartman's press conference about the upcoming San Antonio Scorpions season and their plans for a stadium near Morgan's Wonderland on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

Photo By BOB OWEN/rowen@express-news.net

Henry Cisneros speaks in front of a Nike banner at a news conference pledging his support to Gordon Hartman’s team.

Photo By Courtesy Illustration

An artist rendering of the proposed soccer stadium for the San Antonio Scorpions FC, the team owned by Gordon Hartman.

Photo By BOB OWEN/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Developer Gordon Hartman announces at a news conference Monday that the new North American Soccer League team coming to San Antonio in 2012 will be named Scorpions FC.

In 1992, Tim Hankinson helped form the Charleston (S.C.) Battery of the United States Interregional Soccer League. He was a spearhead in securing the franchise and effectively started it from the ground up.

At least today, when he begins the task of forming the San Antonio Scorpions' inaugural roster, the veteran official already has some help in place.

"I'm very fortunate to have such a great front office staff already here," Hankinson, 56, said Wednesday after being announced by Scorpions president Michael Hitchcock as the franchise's first head coach.

"Back then, I had to do everything."

The New York City native has plenty of work ahead of him regardless.

Hankinson, who has earned more than 300 victories in coaching college and professional teams, will hire two assistant coaches and hold local, regional and national tryout camps to begin seeking some of the 24 players, including three goalkeepers, who will make up the team's roster.

The Scorpions, owned by San Antonio businessman and philanthropist Gordon Hartman, are scheduled to open a North American Soccer League schedule in March at Heroes Stadium, a North East Independent School District facility.

Hankinson was head coach and director of player personnel for the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer when the team faced the New York/New Jersey MetroStars in a 2004 exhibition at the Alamodome.

"I saw then that these fans have been starved" for soccer, he said.

Hankinson added, "It's very important that we're playing the game in a way the Hispanic community will appreciate."

Hitchcock, who hired Hankinson over one other unidentified finalist, said he received more than 100 résumés from interested coaches. But, he added, fewer than 10 received serious consideration.

Hankinson is a graduate of the University of South Carolina. His past collegiate coaching stints include at DePaul, Syracuse and Fort Lewis College. He was also head coach and director of player personnel for the Tampa Bay Mutiny of the MLS.